In Georgia, some navigator events were canceled after health law opponents held a protest at one and posted other events on its website, urging more protests. In South Dakota, meanwhile, a lawmaker introduced a bill to require state registration and background checks of the insurance guides. And a New Hampshire hospital that was excluded from Anthem's network is in the news because it is challenging that decision.
Georgia Health News: Navigator Program Tries To Avoid Controversy
The University of Georgia health navigator program has been keeping a low public profile since opponents of the Affordable Care Act held a protest at a navigator event in Coweta County in November. Sheri Worthy, a UGA official, said the Coweta meeting and those scheduled after that were canceled because Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that opposes the ACA, posted the navigators' events on its website and encouraged protests at them. The protesters who showed up in Coweta rallied peacefully outside the county Extension Service office, calling on UGA to stop supplying navigators to help people sign up for insurance coverage under the ACA, according to the Newnan Times-Herald (Empinado, 2/9).
The Associated Press: South Dakota Bill Would Regulate Health Insurance Helpers
The so-called navigators who help uninsured people sign up for insurance under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul would be regulated under a bill in the South Dakota Legislature. The sponsor, Sen. Al Novstrup, acknowledges that he opposes the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare. But the Aberdeen Republican said supporters of the health care law might also support his proposal because it provides additional protection for people seeking insurance (2/9).
